FORT HOOD, Texas — III Corps and Fort Hood officials will host a Lemonade Day ribbon cutting ceremony at 3 p.m. May 4 in the front entry area of III Corps Headquarters here.

The Fort Hood Garrison Commander Col. Todd Fox and the Killeen Director for Lemonade Day Amanda Stephens will provide opening remarks.

Following the ceremony, a select group of Lemonade Day participants will setup their lemonade stands and sell lemonade to VIP guests and III Corps Soldiers and staff.  These young entrepreneurs have been preparing for this event by learning the basics of business through the Lemonade Day Entrepreneur Workbook and have unique stories to tell the guests.  This Fort Hood event is a snapshot of what the coming weekend will look like with lemonade stands dotting the Fort Hood area communities, which traditionally celebrate Lemonade Day on the first Saturday in May.

Fort Hood was the first military installation to actively promote Lemonade Day, and the success of the program at Fort Hood is now being modeled by other military communities across the country.  Lemonade Day participants have spent the last few months learning how to start, own and operate their business – a lemonade stand.  Participants are encouraged to spend a little, save a little, give a little of their profits.

Lemonade Day is an educational initiative designed to introduce youth to entrepreneurship. Children of all ages learn to set goals, develop a plan, secure an investor, create a product, make a profit and give back to their community.  This will be the seventh year that the Fort Hood area has participated in the program. Lemonade Day is an international program founded in 2007 by Michael Holthouse and his foundation, The Holthouse Foundation For Kids in Houston, Texas. Lemonade Day now has more than 150,000 youth across the U.S. and Canada participating each year.

For more information about Lemonade Day, visit forthood.lemonadeday.org or call Stephens at (254) 421-3913 or Nieomi King, Fort Hood Family Housing Community Services manager, at (254) 289-7244.

Media who wish to cover this event should register. The gate time is 2:15 p.m. May 4 at the south side parking lot of the Fort Hood visitor’s center.